Type 1 on 1 | Diabetes Stories

I know what you’re thinking… surely there’s more than 10 things? You’d be correct.  But if I really thought about all the things I wish I'd known sooner about living with type 1 diabetes, I’d be here forever. Because trying to wade through the chaos that is managing this ridiculous chronic illness is a constant learning curve.  Type 1 diabetes a never-ending game, a quest that is impossible to com...

‘Think about the 20% of things that make 80% of the difference.’ Last week I spoke about my own experience of using a tubed vs tubeless automated insulin delivery system to manage my type 1 diabetes. But for a full breakdown of the current hybrid closed loop systems on the market, I knew I had to call in some expert help. John Pemberton’s wisdom and knowledge was made abundantly clear in his recen...

Trying to figure out which insulin pump might work best for your needs as a person with type 1 diabetes isn't always easy. With more availability comes more choice, which is a great thing. I've now used both the Omnipod 5 and MyLife Loop Ypsopump CamAPS hybrid closed loop systems, so today's episode is a little deep dive into the two based on my real world experience.  I chat through some of the s...

If you’re a fan of Disney and you live with type 1 diabetes, you might just have come across today’s guest. Ruby Valentino is an actor and singer, and to date she has amassed over 2 million likes on TikTok alone on her path of tuneful advocacy, inspiring others and reworking a few classic disney songs with a type 1 twist along the way. But for a long time Ruby’s diabetes was far from the spotlight...

Please note this episode of Type 1 on 1 contains honest discussion of severe depression at around 1'08", including suicidal thoughts.  No matter how long you’ve been living with or close to type 1 diabetes, it remains an incredibly complex condition to understand. And while there’s a wealth of information out there to dig into, knowing what to pay attention to can be just as daunting.  John Pember...

Oh hey, it's World Diabetes Day 2025.  I thought I'd take the opportunity to do a little solo episode based on some questions you sent in, in the spirit of having a little chat about the very real and often ridiculous stuff we go through regularly as people with type 1 diabetes, but that we don't often get to speak about. I talk a bit about type 1 diabetes and the workplace, then there's some trav...

‘Try the tools with curiosity and see where it takes you.’  Today’s guest is Morgan Brown, VP of Product & Growth for AI at Dropbox. Morgan has spent his career helping world-renowned brands like Meta and Shopify unlock company growth, but he’s recently put his AI expertise to work in a specific area of his personal life. Morgan has been living with type 1 diabetes for the last 20 years. His m...

Today’s guest Richard Dixon has been living with type 1 diabetes for nearly 40 years. Diagnosed with the condition at the age of 2, Richard has spent a lot of his life in fear of his next injection due to a debilitating fear of needles. Every mealtime would cause huge amounts of worry, and the multiple daily injections he had no choice but to take steadily impacted every aspect of his life. Like s...

Sane Mazibuko’s introduction to type 1 diabetes was waking up in hospital after collapsing as a 6-year-old. But as she tells us in this heartfelt episode, being told what to do to manage a health condition is not the same as being told why or how. Growing up in Durban, South Africa, Sane had moved across the country as an adult before she spoke to her first endocrinologist, and after years of conf...

Adapting to a type 1 diabetes diagnosis is no small thing, and many of you will resonate with the discomfort Gavin Griffiths experienced as he tried to move through life as a teenager in the early 2000s alongside the diagnosis he received at the age of 8.  In this episode Gavin details how after some tough years, a conversation with a younger, newly-diagnosed classmate flipped a switch that would...

‘I’m ready to put more life back into my life.’ Get ready for a beautiful bolt of warmth, wit and wisdom from today’s guest, as we’re digging into the twists and shifts of an adult diagnosis with Isla Munro. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 43 in 2021, her insight into the realities of the emotional side of type 1 diabetes was already more extensive than most of us living with the thin...

Last week I shared an episode with the wonderful Dr Monika Sharma all about cortisol. We talked about what it is, why we need it, how to regulate it and the role it plays in relation to type 1 diabetes. Within that chat we got onto the subject of a morning routine and what we can do to build healthy habits that can set us up for the day without being overstimulated and sending cortisol off the cha...

Social media is making a lot of noise about cortisol right now. But what exactly does this hormone do? How does it interact with other hormones in the body? What should someone with type 1 diabetes be aware of when it comes to cortisol? Today I’m digging deep with the wonderful Dr Monika Sharma, whose sister’s experiences with type 1 diabetes prompted her to pursue a career in medicine. We’re brin...

It's been a hot minute but Ami Bennett (or should that be Dennett?) is back for a catch up! My dear friend and fellow type 1 Ami returns to give us the latest on her diabetes escapades. There's a lot to catch up on, as Ami's quest for a lower HbA1c has given her a few tales. I discuss the brave new world of tangles that come with a tubed insulin pump, Ami's been dealt a dia-fine and we accidentall...

On September 3rd 2025, diabetes and sport will go under the global spotlight that is a House of Commons debate. In today’s episode the man who made it happen tells us why - and what this could mean for the millions of people living with diabetes in the UK. Chris Bright is one of the community’s crusaders. As part of his role as Community Partnerships and Events Lead at Breakthrough T1D in the UK,...

Senior Paediatric Diabetes Dietitian Lila Digkliou has been helping children and families living with type 1 diabetes for more than 10 years. She was inspired to move from general diabetes care into paediatrics to help people with not only nutrition, but the perspective and tools needed to manage type 1 diabetes as early as possible in their lives. This value packed episode is full of tips and tak...

The relentless, boring everyday that comes with living with type 1 diabetes can sometimes be overlooked in the stories we see online. While I think any and all achievements should be celebrated, there are days where just making it through without falling over IS the marathon.  In this chatty episode, my guest Philippa Robilliard and I have an unboring conversation about the continual demands of th...

Dr Jairo Noreña is an Endocrinology Fellow at Stanford University. After training as a physician in his native Colombia, Jairo moved to the States to continue dedicating his life to medicine. With a triple specialisation in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, and Obesity Medicine as well as long-standing fellowships at prestigious universities including Harvard, Columbia and of course Stanford, to s...

Trying to keep glucose levels within a healthy and safe range as a person with type 1 diabetes is not easy. In this solo episode I'm talking through five habits I've adopted over the many years I've lived with type 1 diabetes that have significantly improved my time in range, giving me more steady glucose levels which has consequently improved my quality of life. And I do not say that lightly! The...

After six months of trying to treat his type 2 diabetes diagnosis at the age of 30, it was tech content creator Justin Eastzer’s TikTok followers that helped him to realise he’d been misdiagnosed. But the very condition that threatened to hold Justin back has since propelled him into a new niche, and today Justin's career is dedicated to speaking to his hundreds of thousands of followers about the...

Back in 2017, I was working at BBC Health News Online when I came across an article about a lady who had launched a clothing range specifically for women with type 1 diabetes, designed to help them manage the condition with strategically placed holes for injecting or reaching devices.  Its creator Natalie Balmain had the idea following her own diagnosis at the age of 20. Many years and many furthe...

The second you start speaking to Dr Paida Katsande, it’s near impossible not to feel more calm, more hopeful, and reassured about the good of humanity. Her sunshine energy is unmistakable, but coupled with the realities of life experience and a clear mission to establish equity in public health, dismantle stigma and improve health outcomes? It’s all the more powerful. A former postdoctoral researc...

If you’ve ever googled a specific insulin pump or CGM, you may well have come across Nerdabetic’s content online. His insightful but fun YouTube videos break down the latest and greatest in diabetes technology, helping people with diabetes to understand how they could benefit. In this episode I’m chatting to Kamil Armacky - the real Nerdabetic. We discuss his personal journey into technology after...

Andrea Limbourg is one of the first people in the type 1 diabetes community I spent time with in real life, although we’ve met only a handful of times. I didn’t really realise until we were recording this episode how much of an impact she’s had on my approach to my type 1 diabetes, and I’m excited that you get to experience her wisdom in today’s episode.   Diagnosed in Canada in 1997, Andrea took...

‘I think I've found postpartum harder to manage in terms of my diabetes than actual pregnancy, but I’m literally living my best life as a mum.’   That sentence is pretty reflective of Emily Vilé’s philosophy on type 1 diabetes - not shying away from the realities of the condition she’s lived with since she was just 14 months old, but soaking up all the moments that feel even sweeter for the juggle...